Emily DeCavelle
Emily Jeanette DeCavelle (born 17 June 1953 in Brecon, New Cambria) is a Heigardian-New Cambrian author and playwright, and the current Ambassador of New Cambria to Heigard, a post she assumed on 12 August 2007, appointed by then-Prime Minister Adam Duval and confirmed by President Daniel Burns. Early life DeCavelle was born on 17 June 1953 in Brecon, Cape Bangor County, New Cambria. She is the youngest of four children born to Sebastien and Jeanette (née Fabian) DeCavelle, both of whom were born in Heigard, as were all of DeCavelle's older siblings. Her father was an editor for Catharsis, New Cambria's most prestigious literary magazine, from 1956 to his death in 1985. Her mother was an educator, originally at the secondary level, and later at the university level. In school, DeCavelle excelled at mathematics and sciences, but her true passion was for writing, and she won numerous awards for her writing in her childhood years. She also was an outstanding field hockey player, which she played while in high school. DeCavelle graduated from All Saints High School in 1971. Writing career DeCavelle continued her education at the University of New Cambria in Arvant, and spent a year studying abroad in Heigard, the country of her parents' birth. Majoring in English Language and Literature, DeCavelle served as editor-in-chief of Letters, UNC's student-run literary publication. Many of her earlier prose and poetry focused heavily on women's issues, possibly due to the political climate in New Cambria at the time, with gender equality in the workplace and reproductive rights at the forefront of the country's collective consciousness. In 1974, DeCavelle wrote a two-act play entitled The Child and the Mountain, which UNC's theatre department staged the following year. The Child and the Mountain received such a positive reception during a 1983 revival that the theatre department has produced the play every fourth year since. DeCavelle frequently returns to the university when the play is performed, having missed the revivals only twice (in 1995 and 2007). In 1979, DeCavelle's first novel, Waves on the River, was released. Despite positive reviews from book critics, Waves failed to make an impression on readers in New Cambria, and achieved smaller-than-expected sales. Her second novel, Matchstick, followed in 1983, and was highly successful both domestically and abroad, and was translated into French, Spanish and Serbo-Croatian for export to Western Europe and the Balkans. Matchstick's French version was one of the best-selling books of 1983 in Heigard. Throughout the remainder of the 1980s, DeCavelle focused mostly on poetry and prose writing as opposed to novels and plays. In 1984, she had a brief stint as managing editor of Catharsis, the literary magazine her father had edited for nearly thirty years. Having accepted the position at the request of her father, who at that point was already suffering from terminal pancreatic cancer, her presence was not well-received by Catharsis's staff. Accusations of nepotism hastened her departure from the magazine in July 1985 after only eleven months. A collection of prose and poetry entitled Rise was published in 1989, and was met with positive reviews. In the years since its publication, Rise has become a staple text for literature students in New Cambria's universities. A third novel, 1993's The Lighthouse Reverend, was near-universally panned by critics. After Reverend's failure, DeCavelle took a break from writing and spent several years living in Heigard, engaged in various philanthropic pursuits. Later career In 1998, while living in Heigard's capital city Creburg, DeCavelle first had the idea of writing a children's book. Over the next two years, she continued to refine her idea for the book while shopping for an interested publishing house. The completed product, Journeys with Mrs. Tapp, was released in New Cambria in 2001 and was an instant best-seller. A sequel, The Treehouse and Mrs. Tapp, was published in 2004, and was even more successful than its predecessor. DeCavelle sold the film rights to her books to Focus Features, a division of Universal Pictures in 2008, with a feature film version of the Mrs. Tapp books in pre-production. A third Mrs. Tapp story, entitled Mrs. Tapp's Trip to Nowhere, has been completed and is set for publication in late 2010. In 2007, acting on the recommendation of then-Prime Minister Adam Duval, the Assembly of Deputies of New Cambria nominated DeCavelle to the position of Ambassador of New Cambria to Heigard. President Daniel Burns confirmed her appointment and DeCavelle assumed the position on 12 August 2007. Following the 2009 general election that moved the Indpendence party back into opposition, the new Social Democrat-led government has not replaced DeCavelle with a selection of their own, which DeCavelle credits to her apolitical nature. Personal life Despite spending much of her time in Heigard, DeCavelle remains close to her family, particularly her mother, who continue to live in New Cambria. Owing to her Heigardian heritage and the demands of her position as Ambassador, she is fluent in French and Spanish in addition to her native English. In 1979, DeCavelle married university professor Dylan David-Lloyd. They had two children, Christine (born 1981) and Nathaniel (born 1983), before divorcing in 1991. Nathaniel is currently a section editor of Catharsis, the literary magazine formerly edited by his maternal grandfather. Selected Works Novels * Waves on the River (1979) * Matchstick (1983) * The Lighthouse Reverend (1993) * Journeys with Mrs. Tapp (2001) * The Treehouse and Mrs. Tapp (2004) * Mrs. Tapp's Trip to Nowhere (2010) Plays * The Child and the Mountain (1974) Poetry and Prose * Rise (1989) Category:New Cambria Category:Heigard Category:Individuals